The present invention is directed to a concrete form assembly of panels which are spaced apart to form walls into which concrete is poured for construction purposes. More particularly, the present invention is directed to corner assemblies to support the panels.
It is known that insulated polystyrene panels may be joined together to form walls which are interconnected with bridges so that two parallel walls are formed into which concrete may be poured for construction purposes. The parent application discloses prior art related to the blocks, inserts and bridges used in the construction of walls to retain the concrete.
The prior art has habitually resorted to the use of molded polystyrene corner pieces which, unfortunately, do not have the desired rigidity, strength and dimensional stability. The expanded needs to shrink or keep over time, especially during adverse weather conditions in storage. Nor can their respective dihedral angles be quickly changed without requiring the production of new molds, which is time consuming and expensive.
During this type of construction, it has been found that the weakest structural features occur at the corners where panels are disposed at angles to one another. The internal bracing does not fully support the forces of pressure applied to the corners when concrete is poured. It is frequently necessary to provide external bracing to the corners to prevent sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of the panels at the corners.
Holman, in U.S. Pat. No. 878,000, used two sides between which concrete was poured.
Corner braces were employed to connect the two sides at the corners. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,240,436, Gendron et al formed two concrete walls with a hollow space between the walls. Sheet metal corner abutments were used at the interior corners of the hollow space between the walls. Boeshart in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,916,879; 5,658,483 and 5,782,050 discloses corner ties for walls made with foam panels and concrete. The corner ties are marketed as FOLD FORM(copyright) and are sold by Fold Form, Inc., Sioux City, Iowa. The product is a molded plastic web with limited support external of the panels. The product is restricted to the dimensions provided and has no versatility to be adapted to various angles for the corner or varying spacing between the panel walls if the concrete portion of the wall is to have a greater or lesser thickness than preset in the product. A separate form is required if the corner angle or thickness of the concrete is varied. The product is disposed between two vertically abutting panels and the edges of the panels each must be provided with specially cut slots to receive straps in the product.
There is a need for a versatile corner support which is usable for varying angles of corners and varying thicknesses of concrete wall. The corner support must be capable of being used with no, or only minimal, adaptation of the panels. The corner support must provide sufficient support as to avoid the necessity for exterior bracing and to prevent sag, separation or blow-out of the corner when concrete is introduced.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a corner system which is versatile and can be used with varying corner angles and varying thicknesses of concrete.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a corner system which fully supports the form panels without further aids and avoids sag, deformation, separation and blow-out of the corners.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a corner assembly for concrete form panels having a pair of rigid members. Each member has an inner face and a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle. The rigid members are spaced apart by a selected distance. A removable bridge is disposed between the pair of rigid members. At least one concrete panel form is juxtapositioned, and connected to the respective inner face of each of the rigid members and concrete is disposed adjacent to each of the at least one concrete form panel. The corner assembly retains the concrete form panel without internal bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of the corner assembly.
In further accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a form for concrete construction having the combination of two pairs of concrete form panels spaced apart a preselected distance, including an inner pair and an outer pair disposed radially therefrom. Each pair includes a pair of concrete form panels disposed in an angular relationship with respect to each other and forming a respective dihedral angle therebetween. At least one bent sheet metal reinforcing member is disposed exteriorly of the other pair of concrete form panels and abutting thereto, thereby forming a secure corner assembly such that the concrete may be poured into the space between the two pairs of concrete form panels without risking a sag, separation or blow-out of the corner assembly nor requiring external bracing thereto.
In still further accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a form assembly used for concrete construction, wherein the concrete is poured between spaced-apart plastic form panels. The form panels are retained during the pouring of the concrete. The improvement is a metal corner assembly having two pairs of metal members spaced apart a preselected distance, including an inner pair and an outer pair of bent sheet metal members. Each pair of bent sheet metal members includes a first metal member and a second metal member, such that plastic form panels may be received within the respective first and second metal members and retained thereby during the pouring of the concrete into the space between the respective pairs of metal members.
Additionally, there is disclosed a corner assembly for concrete form panels having a pair of rigid members. Each member has an inner face and a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle. The rigid members are spaced apart by a selected distance. A plurality of spaced-apart tie-in openings are formed in the rigid members. At least one concrete panel form is juxtapositioned to each of the rigid members. At least one elongated shank is received in at least one of the tie-in openings and extends therethrough into the at least one concrete form panel to secure the rigid member to the at least one concrete form panel. Concrete is disposed adjacent to each of the at least one concrete form panels. The corner assembly retains the concrete form panel without external bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of the corner assembly.
There is further disclosed a corner assembly for concrete form panels having a pair of rigid members. Each member has an inner face and a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle. The rigid members are spaced part by a selected distance. A foot plate is disposed at the base of the corner assembly and connected substantially perpendicularly to the corner assembly to serve as a pivot point for adjusting the corner assembly. At least one concrete panel form is juxtapositioned, and connected to each of the rigid members and concrete disposed adjacent to each of the at least one concrete form panels. The corner assembly retains the concrete form panel without external bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of the corner assembly.
In still another aspect, there is disclosed the method of constructing at least one pair of intersecting concrete walls, between respective spaced-apart pairs of form panels, wherein the concrete poured between the respective pairs of form panels creates a stress concentration at the corner, thereby tending to blow out the corner during pouring of the concrete, and thereby requiring external bracing to prevent a blow out at the corner as the concrete is being poured the improvement comprises the step of providing at least one bent sheet metal reinforcement for the form panels at the intersecting corner therebetween, such that the bent sheet metal reinforcement has a dihedral angle that may be selected easily and conveniently without incurring substantial mold charges. In this manner, the external bracing may be minimized or eliminated altogether. The bent sheet metal reinforcement may have any desired height to accommodate a single corner or a plurality of corners spaced vertically with respect to each other.
In another aspect there is disclosed a method of concrete construction. A plurality of form panels are provided. A corner assembly is provided having at least one member having a bend therein forming a selected dihedral angle. Two of the form panels are disposed at the selected dihedral angle with respect to one another, the form panels being juxtapositioned to the corner assembly. Concrete is disposed against the two form panels wherein the at least one member of the corner assembly is distal from the concrete and retains the form panels at the selected dihedral angle without external bracing and without risk of sag, deformation, separation or blow-out of the corner assembly.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide the optimum combination of plastic and metal to quickly and economically produce a variety of corner assemblies having the desired rigidity, strength and dimensional stability consonant with relatively low cost and minimum tooling instruments.
These metal corners are quite strong, and thus the external bracing requirements are minimized if not eliminated altogether.
Moreover, contractors who are even minimally familiar with concrete construction (using the expanded forms) will readily appreciate the inherent features and advantages of the corner assemblies of the present invention without requiring demonstrations and an educational process, other substantially reducing initial marketing costs.